Cutter knife



April 21, 1953 w. c. SCHMIDT 2,635,663

CUTTER KNIFE Filed NOV. 30. 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 ]NVENTOR. WILLIAM c.SCHMIDT 5 BY April 21, 1953 W. C. SCHMIDT 2,635,663

CUTTER KNIFE Filed Nov. 60. 1950 2 SHEETS'SHEET 2 INVENTOR. WILLIAM c.SCHMIDT BY W 6" ATTORN Patented Apr. 21, 1953 CUTTER KNIFE William C.Schmidt, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to The Cincinnati Butchers SupplyCompany, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application November30, 1950, Serial No. 198,357

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to cutter knives, and more particularly to knivesof the type for use in commercial meat cutting, chopping and mixingmachines.

An object of the invention isto provide a single, double-edged bladewhich is characterized by its narrowness as contrasted with the wide,singleedged curved knives heretofore used in commercial meat cuttingmachinery such as, by way of example, are disclosed in the Van HooydonkPatent No. 1,980,304.

Another object of the invention is to provide a balanced, light weight,-highly eflicient cutter blade for the knife assemblies of commercialmeat chopping machines, which blade is interchangeable with othersimilar blades, and which may be accurately balanced and maintained inbalanced condition throughout its useful life.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cutter knife having asingle, elongated doubleedged blade portion, the shank of whichterminates in a U-loop or mounting member or plate which houses anddefines a cutter-knife mounting slot.- The structural details andphysical relationship of the U-slot with respect to the elongated bladeportion is such as to positively preclude the accidental orunintentional disengagement of a cutter knife from its mounting shaft.incident to operation of the meat cutting machine.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cutter knifehaving the hereinabove described characteristics which may be assembledin sets on the cutter shaft of a commercial meat cutting machine, andwherein the number of? knives in each set may be any number ranging;from one to nine, thereby enhancing the utility,

of the knife.

A further object of the invention is to provide a, cutter knife for meatcutting machines which is so constructed and arranged as to effectivelyoperate without requiring the use of a, comb, heretofore an essentialelement in commercial meatranged as to provide spacious axial clearancebetween the blade portions of other similar cutting knives, therebylessening heating of the meat being cut while greatly increasing theoverall capacity and elflciency of the device.

These and other objects are attained by the means described herein andas disclosed in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a cutter knife embodying the teachings of thepresent invention.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the knife of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a. view similarto Fig. 1 illustrating-a modified form of knife.

Fig. 4 is a side view of theknife of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional viewtaken on line .5.- of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an end view of a cutter shaft provided with a plurality ofcutter knives embodying the teachings of the present invention whereinsix knives comprise a set, the adjacent knives being spaced apart by 60degrees. Fig. 7 is a perspective View of a knife assembly comprising twosets of four knives each.

With reference now to Figs. 1 and 3,.it will be observed that the cutterknife comprises an elongated blade portion Hi, the opposite sides l2 andM of which are sharpened to provide keen cutting edges. The outer freeend It is likewise sharpened, as best disclosed in Figs. 2 and 4.

The shank portion of blade It terminates in an integral U-loop .l 8 fordefining a knife mounting member or friction plate having therein a slotbounded by edges 22, 24 and 26, wherein edges 22 and 26 are disposed insubstantial spaced parallelism'and equidistant from the longitudinalaxis 25 of the slot. It will be, understood that the dimensionalcharacteristics of mounting slot 20 are such as to facilitateassociation of the knife with the flattened portion 28 or" the cuttershaft 30 of a commercial meat chopping machine, Fig. 6.

Mounting member or friction plate I8 is provided with flat, smooth,even, parallel opposite axial faces 2| and 23, wherein the lateralspacing between said faces represents the maximum thickness of bladeportion Iii, see Figs. 2 and 4.. The cutter shaft 30 is provided with aplu rality of sets or pairs of flats, one, pair for the slot of eachknife, wherein the axis of each pair of flats is disposed at an angle.with reference to adjacent laterally spaced flats. "That is, iffour'single blades are to be mounted as a set, the angular relationshipof the flats .for each blade will be turned 90 degrees relative toadjacent flats. If six single knives are to comprise a set, adjacentflats will be disposed degrees apart. In this manner the axialrelationship-of each of the various knives comprising aset-is 3positively established. The use of flats for this purpose is old in theart.

With reference now to Fig. 7, it will be noted that the cutter kniveshave been mounted in two sets of four each wherein the adjacent knivesare spaced 90 degrees apart.

The blades comprising each set are spiraled, in effect,"-around theraxisofzishaftiflin suchsa manner-"that'a spiral'or screw effect will beimparted to the material being chopped by the knives.

For the purpose of clarity of understanding, the first knife of thefirst set has been identified by the letter A, thesecond:knife:i.=by"the letterB,

the third and fourth by ithe .?-letters .'C and D,

respectively. A spacer collar is '--provided between the mounting memberl8 .of--each::blade, said collars being indicated by the numeral 32,whereby adjacent blades are laterallyspaced by a dimension equal to thewidth of a collar.

.JIhedmives :of thessecondzaset; are; identifiedby the lettersAA,.BBQCCaanCLDDgwherein;:knives jiAifal'id AA,;;B;and.-.BB,.Caand .QCandD and: DD rare :disposed 11in ..;in;-;phase :arelationship,.respectively. Dynamic :balanceJsJobtained .:by;matchthe; opposed:blades :of ieachset, that is,; A :and C, Brand. D,;AA?and .CC,.-IBB-.and DD.

With referencemow to Fig. 6;. the numeral 40 .;-indicates; in a;fragmentaryinanner, the bowl portion of a conventionaLmeat grinding.machine, saittbowl as .-is:;the:custom;.;.being;rotatables about .:=a.verticaltaxis for: continuously'zmoving .jthemeat product toward, orinto, the zone of actionxif the 1 011171361QKBiYBS'TaLDldJit:may;be?.assumed:.that1 bowl 240 is :cause'd'fto:rrot.atez.for.;bringngzthermeattto- :-:ward:rthe1"reader. -Eormeference, and .clarityoftunderstanding of :the efstructural .Lidetails :of :the rotatable bowland .knifezassembly-bf .-a ;comzimercial meat cutting machine, and ffor:;.a .de-

tailed description :..of tthe :structural :details ;and :operating:characteristics of :a typical. commercial :meat :grinding machine,reference ;.may .be had '1-to.:the Q CischmidtiPatent No.1 2,1'7'7f,600.

The blades comprising the subject matterxof i the present invention maybe: utilized .inlieurof the *edged, curved cutter knives .1 illustratedin the: cited Schmidt patent without altering any Oil-the structural.-vdetails. thereof 3fIt"-has ".been; observed: that the shape .rof {the,':knives, and particularly:their.=elongated charac- -teri'stics, enablemeat products. to :be; rapidlyziand efficiently acut up :into tiny,.substantiallyunii'formr-particles wi'th' .inappreciable.:heating. of:.the fmeat product. I-Heretoforet the rise intemperatule-WhiChTOCCll11d. in. meat'products incident to a choppingorcomminuting operation presented z seriousproblems to "the meat'processorsflhowever meat chopped in machines provided with knives orthe present invention are :not 'subjectedto objectionable temperatureswhile-being -chopped. 7

With reference nowto' Figs. '6 and 'T, it 'will' be noted that theknivesof an assembly are charac- "terized by spaciousvaxial clearance.This, couz 'pled -with the elongate characteristics of the. in-

ividual 'knives, materially :and substantially iessens :the 1tendencyi'for :the :meat productsrto becom-e .l'heated :and :the.overall capacity and refiiciency of the "device is: greatly: increased.

' E'It should. likewisatbe::noted'i that meat;mayi'be "effectively:chopped :blades grouped: in ..:sets rof athreegfour .01: six. knives:without. requiring ;.the ruse-of combs:heretoforeessential when usingthe'-=:old :type "iQllttELlkIliYBS. .Dispensing "with vtheecombs:eliminatescthe;frictiomheretofore. encountered when cutter kniveswere caused to pass between the teeth of the comb, thereby furtherlessening the tendency for the meat to become objectionably warm whilebeing chopped. 5 Radial adjustment of the various knives may beexpeditiously accomplished by reason of the depth of mounting slots 20,it being understood that-the various blades "may"be"locked inadjustedpositiorf by reason of a compressive force applied axially ofthe cutter shaft by means of a nut 46.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the cross sectional area ofopposite axial faces Zlsand 223.:of ztheiu shaped mounting members =l-8-is sufiicient to give the necessary frictionalenga'gement"with-adjoining spacer collars 32 for -secur.ely,..thouglrreleasably anchoring the various knives in adjusted relationship.

Each of the knives may be'individually adfi justed or set relative .tothe contour of bowl 4G; .zandanyishorteningmf "the. overall. length .ofthe .;'knives duet. to zwear orggrindingmay .be;.compen- :satedilfor;;by .:shif.ting ;-the :relationship :.of .the

mounting members relative to shaftjifl.

.:As;best,disclosedin.Fig..ltheindiyidualknives ;.,are .secured to;shaft .30.;in such amannersassto preclude their-fiyingbffi.into.;space.bycentrifugal force. in the.eventthat.they..should.become;loose from. their .initially .anchored;-relationship with the; shaft.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and.-3,.the..innerzand -.outer cuttingeedges 1. 2 sand J4, -respectively, though laterally spaced,:nevertheless -converge throughout 'substantiallytheir.entire length-joward .theirjree router .LGIldS which iterminategin :endcuttingledge:L6. -lnEig.-1.inner..cutting;edge l 2 is .;di sposed in;substantialaspaced parallelism with: the longitudinal .axis. 2 5125:of.-the mounting ,.slot,20.

In-Fig.-.3: the:outer-:cutting edge. 1.4.;is disposed insubstantial.spaced parallelism I with. the. longitudinal axis, ofthemountingslot.

.Uniformly ,-.satisfactory results have been ..:ob-

tained .in those instanceswherein .the .efiective 4-,; cutting lengthof. theblade; portion I iLhasbeeniof ua dimension :from three .to .sixtimes its .mean

"width. and 1 wherein tthellateral. spacing .between .cuttin edges. i2and. has variedfromsubstantial parallelism to .that .degree -:of.convergency wherein: the. lateral spacingatthe freeoutenends .of.saidJedgesiS approximately. .oneehalf of their spacing .;at theirinner.,-ends adjacent mounti-ng .memberJB. v

With. referencezagain' to...F ig..-3,.it will benoted s5 that .cutting:edge .12 .of ".the: blade..11as .beengprovided with-anegativerake,and.the outer cutting edge M with a positive rake.

The double cutting .edge.constructionenables t-the blades;t0.bereversed. thereby...d011blir 1 g-their cor-effective .life .before.having to be removed from -the machine for. resharpening.

What is claimed-is:

1. A knife for a meat cuttingmachineformed .as a .unitof thinametal andcomprising'asub- 165 stantiallymircular.mountingportionand.an:elongatedblade portion 1 extending from the-mount- .ing portion, 1 said .mountingportion having .fiat and unobstructed rside faces and -.:being...formedwith. a .-radia1ly- -extendingt slot. open at. itsputer end of greaterlength than a. radius .ofthe mount- ;lng; portion, said. slot; havingitseopen .outer T. end facing in thedirection of ;the outer .end of theblade and being of. a-width adaptingit toreeeive 1 a blade-carryingshaft of. a meat. cuttingzmachine in :its inner=end portion Landhaving-generally straight side edges parallel to and spaced equaldistances from the said radius of the said mounting portion, said bladeportion extending from the peripheral edge of the mounting portion forthe full distance between a side edge of said slot and the outer end ofanother radius of the mounting portion at right angles to the radiusfollowed by the slot, and said blade portion being of no greaterthickness than the thickness of the mounting portion and being graduallyreduced in thickness from opposite side faces towards its edges toprovide the blade with sharp edges along inner and outer side edges andacross its outer end.

2. A knife for a meat cutting machine formed of thin metal andcomprising a mounting portion and an elongated cutting blade extendingfrom the mounting portion, the mounting portion having flat side facesand being formed with an open-ended slot extending from a marginalportion of the mounting portion to and beyond the center of the saidmounting portion and having its open outer end facing in the directionof the outer end of the blade, said slot being closed at its inner endwhereby a shaft of a cutting machine fitted into the slot through theopen outer end thereof may occupy the inner end portion of the slot andhave its axis registering with the center of the mounting portion, saidcutting blade extending from the mounting portion longitudinally of theslot and being located entirely at one side of the slot between a sideedge of the slot and a marginal portion of the mounting portion spacedlaterally from the said side edge of the slot, the axis of the bladeextending substantially parallel to the axis of the slot wherebycentrifugal force pulls the closed inner end of the slot against theshaft upon which the knife is mounted and prevents dislodgement of theknife by the centrifugal force.

3. A knife for a meat cutting machine formed as a unit of thin metal andcomprising a mounting portion and an elongated blade extending from themounting portion and having sharp inner and outer side edges, saidmounting portion being formed with a straight slot leading from itsmarginal edge and closed at its inner end and open at its outer end, theslot having its open outer end facing in the direction of the outer endof the blade and being of a length greater than the distance between itsopen outer end and the center of the mounting portion and of a widthadapting a blade-carrying shaft of the meat cutting machine to be fittedinto the slot through the open outer end thereof and disposed at theinner end of the slot concentric with the mounting portion, and saidblade extending 1ongitudinally of the slot to one side thereof in adirection outwardly of the open outer end of the slot and having itsaxis substantially parallel to the axis of the slot whereby centrifugalforce created during rotation of the knife-carrying shaft holds theclosed inner end of the slot against the shaft.

4. A knife for a meat cutting machine comprising an elongated bladehaving sharpened inner and outer side edges, said blade having a shankterminating in an integral U-shaped frictional mounting member defininga slot open towards that end of the blade remote from the shank, saidblade and said mounting member having a generally J-shaped contour,whereby the axis of the blade extends substantially parallel to the axisof the slot from the side of the mounting member adjacent the slot andthereby causing centrifugal force created during rotation of a shaftupon which the knife is mounted to pull the inner end of the slotagainst the shaft and hold the knife upon the shaft.

WILLIAM C. SCHMIDT.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 812,784 Clay Feb. 13, 1906 825,258 Wollen July 3, 19061,394,434 Lofller Oct. 18, 1921 1,950,733 Kopke 1 Mar. 13, 19342,081,807 Gabriel May 25, 1937 2,149,193 Stock Feb. 28, 1939 2,551,049Pinkers May 1, 1951

